yale online phd programs

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Yale University

Online Learning

Free and for-credit Yale courses covering topics from game theory to modern poetry are available to undergraduates, graduate students, and the general public.

Department of Psychology

You are here, overview of the program.

These are remarkable times for psychology. Scientific breakthroughs concerning the biological, emotional, cognitive, and social basis of normal and abnormal behavior are reported in the media almost daily. The faculty associated with the Department of Psychology at Yale University represents the cutting edge of research and scholarship in this broad and exciting field.

The primary goal of graduate education in psychology at Yale University is the training of researchers, for academic and applied settings, who will broaden and deepen the knowledge base on which the science of psychology rests. The graduate program in the Department of Psychology annually enrolls about 15 new Ph.D. students. When applying to the Department, each potential graduate student indicates one of five areas of concentration, and usually has a “home” in a particular lab, but it is also possible to collaborate with faculty and students in other labs and participate in programs that cut across these traditional areas (e.g., cognitive, affective and social neuroscience; health sciences).

Our Department has an illustrious history, but, more important, continues to reinvigorate itself by recruiting the most outstanding scholars we can identify in clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience, and social-personality psychology, with special efforts to attract those whose interests bridge these areas. These scholars include faculty, research scientists, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates in Psychology and other programs (e.g., the School of Management, Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program).

A primary objective of our graduate program is to encourage research that follows from an understanding of the substantive and methodological bases of scientific psychology as well as from other social and biological sciences. We encourage students to appreciate the multiple historical and theoretical contexts from which the field has emerged, and to create an environment that facilitates student and faculty interest and participation in research activities. Moreover, many members of the faculty are committed to exploring the impact of their work on individual, community, and societal problems. Consequently, faculty and student interests and research often bridge basic science to issues of public policy, providing opportunities for students to develop broad areas of expertise.

We are deeply committed to graduate education and are eager to work closely with students to help them take advantage of the rich offerings of our Department and University in ways that suit their interests and talents. Our department is a thriving and diverse intellectual community that is committed to a culture of inclusiveness. The relatively small size of our graduate program and the large number of primary and affiliated faculty ensure that each student receives extensive attention in following an individualized curriculum. Over the years, we have cultivated a supportive environment that provides rigorous training. Our program is an active, exciting, flexible, and challenging setting in which qualified students who share our interests thrive. We welcome your application.

Department of History

Ph.d. programs.

The Department of History’s doctoral degree program seeks to train talented historians for careers in scholarship, teaching, and beyond the academy. The department typically accepts 22 Ph.D. students per year. Additional students are enrolled through various combined programs and through HSHM.  All admitted Ph.D. students receive a  full  financial aid package  from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. 

History of Science and Medicine

The  Program in the History of Science and Medicine  (HSHM)  is a semi-autonomous graduate track within the Department of History. HSHM students receive degrees in History, with a concentration in the History of Science and Medicine.  There is a separate admissions process for students interested in the History of Science and Medicine. For more information, please see the  HSHM website . 

Combined Doctoral Programs

Joint ph.d. programs.

Hybrid Doctor of Nursing Practice

Published: Summer 2020

Description

The Yale Clinical DNP is designed for APNs working part or full time in a clinical role who would like to pursue doctoral education as they develop their clinical knowledge and experience. The Clinical DNP graduate will apply the knowledge gained in their course work and clinical collaborations to develop new clinical practices, processes, and roles that will contribute to better health for all people.

Yale Health Care Leadership, Systems, and Policy Doctor of Nursing Program Projects are designed to immerse students in real-world health care situations and to use the knowledge and skills gained during their coursework and practica experiences to present a solution. Working with a Yale Health Care Leadership, Systems, and Policy Doctor of Nursing Program project advisor and project team, the student designs a project, identifies the problems, purposes and aims, and reviews relevant literature. Using a methodological approach and analytic plan, they collaborate with an onsite mentor to implement the project, analyze the results, and make recommendations for practice and, if appropriate, future research. A formal presentation and scholarly paper are due at the end of the third year.

Program Takeaways

• Evidence-based practice model change initiatives
• Quality improvement/performance management projects
• Analysis of policy problems
• Development of tools for advocacy
• Design, evaluation and implementation of new models of care
• Policy/practice case report and analysis
• Implement and evaluate innovative uses for technology to enhance or evaluate care
• Collaborate with researchers to answer clinical questions
• Collaborate on legislative change using evidence
• Design and evaluate programs
• Conduct financial analyses to compare care models and potential savings
• Design and use databases to retrieve information for decision making, planning, and evaluation
• Work with lay or professional coalitions to develop, implement, or evaluate health programs, such as health promotion, and disease prevention programs for vulnerable patients, groups or communities

An online and in-person hybrid program.

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• Combined PhD Programs

Formal Combined PhD Programs

Ad hoc combined phd programs.

Many academic departments and programs in the Graduate School partner to offer formal combined PhDs. You can apply for a formal combined degree program in your original admission application to the Graduate School; or, if you are in your first year of study, by requesting to transfer from your current program to a combined program. Students may not transfer programs after they have advanced to candidacy. 

To explore the possibility of transferring to a combined degree program, you should consult with the directors of graduate studies in your current and prospective programs. You will need to identify an appropriate academic adviser in the new program; fill out the Departmental Transfer Form ; and prepare a one-to-two-page statement detailing your academic reasons for requesting the transfer and a timeline for completing the PhD. Requests to transfer to a combined program should be submitted to your current and prospective programs for review and approval, which is entirely at the discretion of the two departments/programs.  Programs then submit signed forms and materials to the Dean’s Office for final approval. These should be sent to [email protected] .

You also have the option to propose an ad hoc combined PhD for approval by both programs and the Graduate School. If you are in your first year of study and wish to explore the possibility of transferring to an ad hoc combined PhD, you should discuss your plans and proposal with the directors of graduate studies in your current and prospective programs. You will need to identify an appropriate academic adviser in the new program and complete the Departmental Transfer Form . (Example: a student in Political Science applying to transfer to an ad hoc combined PhD with Religious Studies would fill out the form requesting a transfer from "Political Science" to "Political Science and Religious Studies.") In addition to the form, you should prepare a one-to-two-page statement explaining the academic reasons for the ad hoc proposal. Applications to transfer to an ad hoc combined PhD must also include a detailed outline and timeline for completing all requirements of the degree. 

Please note that a combined degree should represent some combination of the requirements of each program, as agreed to by both DGSs. It does not represent the total sum of requirements in both programs. The combined degree is not two PhDs, but rather a combination of two doctoral programs that can be completed within the student's normal time to degree. Requests to transfer to a combined program should be submitted to your current and prospective programs for review and approval. Approval is entirely at the discretion of each program. Programs then submit signed forms and materials to the Dean’s Office for final approval. These should be sent to [email protected] .  

Matthew S. Tanico

Assistant Dean for Academic Support & Outreach

• [email protected]

Fall 2024 Applications due by May 24th

Yale School of Nursing

Online msn in psychiatric-mental health, answer the call: become a psychiatric nurse practitioner .

Designed for aspiring nurse practitioners who seek a fulfilling career while addressing the growing need for mental health services, the Online Master of Science in Nursing Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program offers a Yale education wherever you are.

Online Flexibility

Yale excellence.

Yale's online Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program delivers unparalleled excellence in education, equipping aspiring professionals with the advanced skills and knowledge to excel in mental health care. With a curriculum rooted in Yale's 100-year legacy of academic rigor and clinical expertise, students gain access to world-class faculty, innovative coursework, and immersive clinical experiences, launching their career as mental health professionals and leaving a profound impact in psychiatric healthcare delivery.

Projected employment growth of nurse practitioners from 2022-2032

(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022)

Median total income for full-time PMHNP Nurse Practitioners

Ranked psychiatric nurse practitioner program in the U.S.

(U.S. News and World Report, 2023-2024)

Just the basics:

Applicants to the online Master of Science in Nursing, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program must have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, graduation from a school of nursing approved by the licensing board of the state in which it is located, and active Registered Nurse (RN) licensure. The online PMHNP program is currently not being offered to students residing in New York, Tennessee, or foreign countries.

All applicants to the online Master of Science in Nursing, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner must submit an application via NursingCAS, the centralized application service for nursing schools and programs. You'll need to submit an application, official transcripts from all institutions you've attended, a personal statement, resume/CV, and 3 letters of recommendation. For a complete list of requirements and deadlines, please visit the How to Apply page.

Tuition for the online Master of Science in Nursing Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty is currently $2,001 per credit hour. The program requires 52.5 credits to complete. For a comprehensive breakdown, visit the tuition and fees  page.

Students attend three in-person immersions (one per year) on the YSN West Campus in Orange, CT.

Your 802.5 hours of clinical experience are balanced across populations and settings during your second and third year in the program. Accessibility to clinical sites varies from state to state and a means of transportation will be required. There may be instances where students may need to travel to their clinical experience. Clinical practice experiences will take place in a variety of health care settings and systems including, but not limited to: community mental health centers, integrated psychiatric and primary care, acute and long-term care settings, etc. 

Explore and Learn

We're here to answer any questions you might have, whether about the program, financial aid, how to apply, or anything else! Use these links to find helpful information and resources.

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Yale Daily News

The end of Yale’s online physician’s assistant program

In December, Yale announced it would be ending its online physician’s assistant program. The News spoke with several students and professors to learn about their reactions.

Alyssa Chang, Contributing Photographer

For many years, Alison Streeter MED ’25 did not think she would ever work in the medical field. After double majoring in vocal performance and general studies at Indiana University, she worked as a school counselor and primary therapist at multiple secondary schools and even helped direct an arts and events space in Virginia. 

But Streeter had always been interested in becoming a physician’s assistant, or PA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, after seeing many of her friends switch jobs, she decided to apply to Yale’s Online PA program in 2022. She was accepted and will graduate from the program next year. 

Though Streeter was accepted into another on-campus PA program in Atlanta, she decided to accept Yale’s offer because the program’s online format made it much more practical.

“I really liked the flexibility of the Yale PA online program, so that’s why I opted to accept that position,” Streeter told the News.

However, students will not be able to take advantage of Yale’s online program in the future. In December, the School of Medicine announced that it will be closing its PA Online Program. While there are currently 40 students in this year’s graduating class, no future students will be able to apply and the final graduating class will be in 2026. Launched in 2018 amid primary clinician shortages, Yale’s PA Online Program sought to make PA education more accessible by offering remote education that allowed students to remain in their home communities.

In a co-written email to the News, Elizabeth Roessler, Alicia Bolden and Alexandria Garino, all of whom are professors at the PA school, cited the program’s difficulties in finding clinical placements near students’ residences for the program’s discontinuation.

“Facing an increasingly challenging clinical placement landscape for health care students across the country, we found ourselves over the past few years competing with clinical training programs in other states seeking to place their own students in clinical settings,” the professors wrote.

The PA administrators said that they have struggled to secure suitable clinical placements for their students because many healthcare providers and facilities have scaled back their student-training capacities following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many healthcare systems have grappled with a shortage of preceptors due to increasing workload expectations, time constraints, potentially lower clinical productivity and self-perceived lack of qualification by providers . This, in turn, has caused an increase in competition for fewer spots.

Yale’s PA Online Program was structured similarly to its traditional campus-based PA Program. Students in both programs receive a Master of Medical Science, or MMSc, degree after 28 months of study. For the first 12 months, those in the online program receive a “didactic” curriculum, which includes online classes on the anatomy and physiology of the human body, supplemented by clinical experiences.

Then, over the following 16 months, students participate in clinical rotations at a local hospital. A clinical placement team at Yale helps coordinate PA students to hospitals that can give them hands-on experience.

“I really liked the hybrid model of the curriculum,” Emily Lin Syed MED ’25, a second-year student in the online program. “I think that this was an innovative program, and it was successful in many ways.”

Additionally, the PA professors cited concerns about having to compete for placement spots against students in other local in-person PA programs. Because Yale’s Online PA program was reluctant to assert placement demands locally, some students had to travel long distances for their clinical rotations.

Though the program hired additional clinical support staff and gradually reduced class sizes, they ultimately decided to discontinue the online program.

Nevertheless, the PA program administrators underscored the importance of continuing efforts to broaden educational accessibility.

“We are proud of our current PA Online students and the nearly 250 program graduates,” they wrote.

The Yale in-person PA Program accepted its first class in 1971.

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The mentorship and support I’ve received through the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) as a predoctoral fellow has been invaluable and was a big factor in my decision to attend YSPH.

PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Department aims to understand and improve health equity, both domestically and globally. SBS provides instruction in the theory and methods of the social and behavioral sciences that emphasize individual, interpersonal, community, and structural influences on health, illness, and recovery. The primary emphases are focused on (1) understanding the psychosocial, behavioral, community, and societal influences on health in the general population, with a focus on those who are disadvantaged; and (2) creating multilevel interventions that eliminate barriers to health, from infancy to old age. The SBS curriculum takes an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on integrating methods from epidemiology and the social sciences, training scientists with a broad skill set that allows them to answer a host of complex research questions. The department has numerous research strengths including in HIV/AIDS, aging health, community engaged health research, maternal child health, mental health, health equity and disparities, and stigma prevention and health.

This program does not require General GRE test scores.

Learn more about the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

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